IRB Sevens World Series leaders England have questioned the fairness of offering extra points at the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens, along with the tournament's format, described by coach Ben Ryan as 'a bit of a lottery'.
With Hong Kong being the only 24-team tournament in the eight-leg series - the jewel in the crown, according to the IRB - it offers the champions 30 points, six more than any of the other seven legs which are all 16-team events.
'I am not sure if it is a fair thing that one tournament has a larger amount of points,' Ryan said. 'The extra points do make a big difference in the end.'
England, who are bidding to win their first IRB World Series crown, are tied with New Zealand on 80 points, at the top of the standings at the halfway stage. Reigning champions Samoa are in third place with Fiji on 64, while South Africa, winners of the last leg in Las Vegas, are fifth on 56 points.
'If you win Hong Kong, you are guaranteed you gain a little bit more space in front of the guys behind you, so that makes a big difference. But if you don't hit the last four in Hong Kong, you leave yourself with a mountain to climb for the rest of the season,' Ryan said.
While the losing finalists in Hong Kong get 25 points - five fewer than the champions - the two losing semi-finalists get 20 each. In all the other legs, the champions get 24 points, the losing finalists 20, and the losing semi-finalists 16 each.
Ryan also decried the system used to decide which two teams would join the six pool winners in the Cup quarter-finals during the March 25-27 tournament where they are pooled with the United States, Japan and China.